Миранда Джеймс - Six Cats A Slayin'

Azalea moved quickly to put an arm around Alex’s shoulders. She stroked Alex’s head, now bent toward her nursing child. “Now see here, you are not any kind of failure, you just hush that kind of talk. Looking after a fretful baby is a trial to anyone, and you stop feeling like it’s your fault.”

“Azalea’s right, sweetheart,” I said. “The best thing you can do for yourself is to have the strength to admit you need help. No one is going to fault you for that.”

“Thank you, Dad.” Alex didn’t appear to be wholly convinced by our assurances, but I hoped if we continued to encourage her, she would accept help.

Before I could say anything further, we all heard loud meows coming from another room. Only Diesel could produce that decibel level, and after a glance of apology to Alex and Azalea, I hurried from the room.

I took a couple of steps into the living room before I halted in amazement. Diesel sat on his hind legs in front of the drapes at the large picture window, batting futilely at kittens climbing the drapes. I counted quickly. Yes, all five of them clung to the drapes at various points about three feet high.

Diesel successfully batted one loose—George, I thought—and warbled in a threatening tone. He placed a large paw on top of the wriggling kitten and pinned him to the floor, even as he gazed up at the remaining four mountaineers.

“I’m here, boy.” I hurried to join Diesel at the drapes and started extracting the other kittens from the drapes and placing them inside their obviously ineffective corral.

“What am I going to do with you little monsters?” I said to the kittens, all of whom were now tussling with one another. Beside me Diesel chirped and meowed, no doubt in agreement. These kittens were proving more challenging than I had expected, and I had to get the situation under control.

SIX

I posed my question about the kittens to Stewart and Haskell later in the day. “I was planning to go to the pet store this afternoon but didn’t make it there. I simply forgot, I guess.” I shook my head. “I don’t know what my memory’s coming to these days. Anyway, I called them about half an hour ago, and they don’t have a big enough cage in stock at present. They said it would take a week or so to get one, and I told them I’d think about it. I’m not sure what to do, but I obviously need to do something sooner than that.”

“Haskell and I were discussing that ourselves,” Stewart said, sounding a bit smug. “I think we’ve found, well, Haskell has found the solution.”

“Really? What’s your idea?” I asked, turning to Haskell.

“I can build something for you that ought to do what you want,” he replied. “You buy the materials, and I’ll supply the design and the labor. With Stewart’s assistance.” He glanced at his partner, and Stewart nodded, smiling.

“Sounds great to me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” I said.

“Glad to help out,” Haskell replied.

“How long do you think it will take?”

“A few hours, I reckon. I can do it tomorrow,” Haskell said. “Long as I don’t get called in for anything.” His work schedule could be unpredictable, I knew. He sometimes got called to fill in for another deputy or in cases of emergency.

“Wonderful,” I replied. “Write down what you need, and I’ll get it this evening.”

After that, we discussed the dimensions of the enclosure Haskell proposed to build, and once we had settled on those, Haskell started jotting down the items he needed. He made a few calculations as he went, and within half an hour he had completed his list.

I drove to the building supply store right away. I estimated that by the time I located everything and had it loaded and paid for, I’d be home again in time for dinner. Helen Louise was joining us tonight, and I was looking forward to talking to her about the upcoming holiday party at Gerry Albritton’s house. I was able to spend a little more time with Helen Louise since she had made the decision a couple of months ago to start cutting back on her hours at the bistro. I didn’t think she had cut back as much as she really needed, for the sake of her own general well-being, but she was slowly making progress.

At the store I simply handed over Haskell’s list, and store personnel found everything for me. I went to high school with the owner of the place. His family had owned the business since the early part of the last century, and customer service was a priority for them. The whole errand took less than an hour, and they delivered everything about thirty minutes after I got home. Haskell and Stewart helped unload it all, and Haskell assured me they would have the enclosure assembled by the following afternoon.

Later, over the dinner table, Helen Louise and I, along with Stewart and Haskell, enjoyed the chicken salad Helen Louise had made. We talked about the party while we ate.

“I’ve already had a call from Milton Harville,” I told the others. “He didn’t sound all that keen on the party.”

“Because of Tammy, I’m sure,” Helen Louise said. “I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone as possessive as she is. Poor Milton can hardly talk to women customers at the pharmacy without her going crazy.”

Stewart laughed. “I know this will sound bitchy, but I can’t imagine any woman besides Tammy ever looking twice at Milton. He is the kindest, most generous man I know, but he doesn’t exactly have the most sparkling personality. Plus he talks and talks and talks, and you end up spending three times as much time at the pharmacy as you need.”

“I know what she sees. A healthy paycheck.” Haskell scowled. “I knew her in high school, and the only guys who interested her were the ones with money. Back then Milton was already working for his dad and his grandfather, and he always had a little cash to throw around. Unlike some of us.”

“According to Milton, Gerry Albritton was mighty friendly to him.” I glanced at Helen Louise. “As she was with me.”

Helen Louise grimaced. “I think she plays up to men as a matter of course. No telling what she’s really after.”

“I can see why you don’t want to go to her party, Charlie.” Stewart grinned at me. “Our Charlie doesn’t like the man-eater type.”

“No, our Charlie doesn’t.” I frowned at Stewart. “There will be plenty of men at the party, I have no doubt, and she’s welcome to lavish her attention on them.”

Helen Louise laughed. “Most of them will be with their wives, at least if the guests are all from the immediate neighborhood. I can’t think of any single men, offhand.”

“Will the grande dame of the neighborhood be there, do you think?” Stewart asked.

I looked at him, puzzled. “Who is the grande dame of the neighborhood?”

“Deirdre Thompson,” Stewart and Helen Louise said in unison. They laughed.

“I’m sure she was invited,” Helen Louise said. “Our hostess must know by now who Deirdre is.”

“And surely Deirdre has condescended enough to call upon the new addition to the neighborhood,” Stewart said. “She always has done in the past.”

“She did when I moved in to the house after my aunt’s death.” I recalled the occasion with grim amusement. Deirdre and Diesel had taken one look at each other, and Diesel had left the room. Deirdre hadn’t lingered, either. I shared this with the others.

Hearing his name, Diesel warbled loudly from the doorway. I looked over to see him accompanied by Fred and George. I groaned and pointed to the trio. “This is why I desperately need a way to pen up these miscreants.” Even before I finished speaking, the two kittens had galloped across the floor and made as if to climb up Haskell’s legs, which, fortunately for him, were covered in denim.